Time to Design

Steve founded Room by Room in 2009. After 14 years in kitchen manufacturing Steve felt 2009 was the right time to make the move from manufacturing into the design and installation of fitted furniture solutions. Specialising in the design and installations of kitchens, bedrooms and home studies Steve works with the highest quality of suppliers and those with an ability to deliver products as unique and distinctive as his designs.

In your opinion what should be the main consideration for the customer when selecting a kitchen designer/installer?

“It is important for the customer to find someone who they have confidence in and who they can trust. Someone who will listen and anticipate their needs. The role of a designer is to suggest, advise and guide the customer through the design process, offering ideas outside the box, whilst remaining focused on the customers’ needs. It’s not about working to sell the customer products or solutions that they simply just don’t need but working with them to advise on where best to focus their budget based on their priorities and needs.

Finally, continuity from the design through to the completion of a project, is essential. The customer should ask themselves whether the designer will oversee the installation part of their project, will they be a key part in the project management of the work? Here at Room by Room when I design a space I follow that design through to completion including, the ordering of goods, booking and liaising with any trades and visiting the site daily. I see it very much as my responsibility to ensure that what I have worked with the customer to deliver on paper becomes a reality.”

Name your top 3 considerations when designing a kitchen?

“Functionality is defiantly top of my list. It is so important to deliver a kitchen design that works to meet the customers needs. A kitchen then also needs to be practical, it needs to last, it needs to be usable and it needs to stand up to the demands of daily life. My final and third consideration would then be ascetics, creating a kitchen the customer can fall in love with and enjoy.”

How much time should customers allocate to the design process?

“I always say that a customer should allow anything between 3 – 6 months from the moment they start to think about fitting a new kitchen to being able to cook their first meal in it. The design element of the process is essential to the customer being able to receive a finished product that will be everything they need it to be. It should not be rushed and should be very much a two way conversation with the design evolving until it meets the customers definition of perfection.

Once the design has been agreed the customer should then take into consideration the lead time for manufacture and scheduling the work in to the fitting diary.”

Top trends currently for kitchens?

“Matt colours are definitely where kitchens are currently. Subtle matt colours combined with injections of colour or bold textures.”

What would be your must have appliance in a kitchen?

“Hot Tap. Once you’ve had one you never look back. The hop taps free up work top space by removing the need for a kettle but they also save time, money and water. Hot taps aren’t just about making hot drinks they also provide quick and easy access to boiling water for cooking and cleaning.”

You design kitchens for people all of the time, but what would be your go to recipe when cooking for friends and family in your own kitchen?

“It has to be either spaghetti bolognaise or a Sunday roast. I really enjoy cooking and can honestly say that with Siemens appliances at home as well as in the showroom I am not only familiar with the benefits of the appliances on paper but in real life as well.”